The Monster of the Battle Frontier
by DoveyBloody
Summary: Caitlin is the Frontier Brain of the Battle Castle in the Sinnoh Region's Battle Frontier, but has been barred from battling due to her psychic powers going out of control. However, Darach, Caitlin's loyal butler, has dedicated himself to the role the Battle Castle's Frontier Brain. But Caitlin wants to battle again... And she isn't going to let anybody stop her, not even Darach...
1. The Curse

It was a late afternoon at the Battle Frontier of the Sinnoh Region, and tens upon hundreds of Pokémon Trainers were coming in and out of the large gates to the wondrous place where many different types of Pokémon Battles were held. Trainers from every corner of the Sinnoh Region – and even from other regions such as Kanto and Johto – could be found at the Battle Frontier, mixing and mingling with each other, facing off against each other in fierce Pokémon Battles, and overall having the time of their lives. And while some trainers were running around and towards the various facilities of the Battle Frontier, and other trainers were stationary and showing their Pokémon off… there was one particular Pokémon Trainer who was just standing still in the middle of the massive crowd, just starting at everybody. The girl was very pale in the face, and had on a beautiful, airy pink and white dress, and her long beige hair drooped all the way down to her ankles, and was adorned by a pair of big white bows on either side of her head. And lastly where her eyes, which were very big, and were like two large pools of vibrant green… and yet, there was something off about the look in her eyes. It was something that was rather mysterious, and, oddly enough… _disturbing_. The girl continued to stand completely still in the middle of the giant crowd, eyeing every trainer and Pokémon who would pass her. And they would wish to see how she'd like it and eye her back, only to immediately avert their gaze, for apparently merely looking at the girl would be enough to frighten somebody somehow.

"Dude, what the heck is up with that girl over there?" a trainer asked his friend, who saw the girl staring at him. "She's stood in that exact same spot every day for the past _four_ days. It's starting to creep me out."

"Heck if I know, man," the trainer's friend said. "Best not to worry about it. I mean, it's not like she's hurting anybody."

"Are you sure she isn't planning to, though?" the trainer said. "Because she's coming this way."

The two boys looked at the girl again, who was now walking towards them, not breaking eye contact at all. The trainer hesitatingly grabbed onto a Poké Ball fastened onto his belt. His friend swatted his hand away from it, and shook his head in disappointment at his companion. The girl appeared in front of the two boys, who were curious at first, but gave the beautiful maiden a little wave. The girl, however, didn't wave back, but pointed at the Poké Ball the trainer had hanging off the side of his hip. The trainer, understandably hesitant since he doesn't know the girl, or what her intentions are, reluctantly unfastened the Poké Ball and handed it to the girl. The young lady held it with both her hands, starting at it so intensely that it was as if she was trying to put the Pokémon inside it under a spell. The two boys were eyeing each other, wondering what she was aiming to do with the Poke Ball. But that's when the girl closed her eyes. And then suddenly the girl's long beige hair started to rise from the ground. The trainer was as startled as could be, and even his friend was beginning to feel a little afraid. The mysterious girl was beginning to float in midair, and a strange aura of energy was starting to surround her, when suddenly…

"Lady Caitlin!"

Upon hearing her name and title escape the lips of the suited man running towards her, the girl's eyes opened up, her hair stopped floating, and she landed back on the ground in a mere instant. And the man who managed to quite literally bring the girl back down to Earth gave the two baffled young boys a quick bow and gave the girl a little hug. He was a rather tall man compared to the girl, dressed in a sharp, black suit, and wore his hair short and slicked back, and a rather regal pair of spectacles, greatly contrasting the young girl's lighter, fluffier appearance. And yet, two boys found the tall, dark-suited man to be far more… approachable than the girl ever was.

"I am deeply sorry for whatever's transpired here," the dark-suited man said. "I hope Lady Caitlin wasn't troubling you young trainers too much, was she?"

"N-No, of course not," the trainer said. "We were just showing here… what a Poké Ball looks like. She seemed to like it very much."

"Yeah, she did," the trainer's friend said. "A little… _too_ much."

The dark-suited man gave the young girl a curious look, which she replied to by turning up her nose and looking away from him. The man shook his head in shame, seized the girl's hand, and gave the two boys another bow.

"We'll be on our way now," the man said. "Enjoy the rest of your stay at the Battle Frontier."

And the man and the girl walked away, leaving the two boys completely confused.

"Dude," the trainer said.

"Yeah?" the trainer's friend asked.

"You saw her hair light up, right?"

"Uh-huh… And you saw her feet leave the ground, right?"

"Yep… Should we—"

"Dude, we live in a world where we're expected to leave the house at 10-years-old to go out in the wilderness to trap supernatural creatures inside freaking _balls_. Best not to question it, wouldn't you agree?"

The trainer looked at the man and the girl walking off into the distance. The girl glared back at him with her large, green eyes, startling him and causing him to fall to the floor, hitting his head on the pavement.

"Y-Yeah, maybe it's best if we didn't," the trainer said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Lady Caitlin, I understand how much you wish to mix and mingle with the trainers and their Pokémon," the man in the suit said as he breezed through the crowd, holding the young girl by the hand. "But you must remember that we still have a job to do here. Trainers are waiting to enter the Battle Castle and I cannot start without you."

Caitlin bit the arm of the man that was holding her hand in a tight yet still delicate manner. The man winced in pain, but the girl just started at him, not caring about the pain she just inflicted onto him.

"Darach," Caitlin said in a smooth, light-sounding, yet dead and monotonic voice. "All I do is sit in a chair."

"You know you do more than that, Lady Caitlin," Darach said, rubbing the sore on his arm caused by the bite the girl gave him.

"No, I don't," Caitlin retorted, and then looked up to the sky. "I'm a Pokémon Trainer who isn't even allowed to train Pokémon or battle other trainers."

"I'm more than certain you're aware of the reasoning behind such decision-making, Lady Caitlin."

"You mean the psychic powers I never asked for?"

"I've been with you for as long as I can remember, Lady Caitlin. I know how hard it's been for you, and I'm sorry that this had to happen. But you must understand that it's for the best."

Darach offered his lady his hand, but Caitlin swatted it away without a care. She gave him a cold stare, and even started to grit her teeth.

"I want to battle," Caitlin said sternly.

"You _know_ I cannot let you do that," Darach said in a tone that was far more serious than he normally sounded.

"I don't care! What's the point of me even being here if all I'm going to do is sit in a chair and watch while everybody else – including _you_ , my own butler – is having fun and enjoying themselves? I mean… Why? Why did you have to tell the others about my powers?"

"Lady Caitlin, I'm sorry, but the other Frontier Brains and even the Elite Four and Champion Cynthia themselves have agreed that this would be the best course of action. And if you battle, and they find out…"

Darach went down on his knees and held Caitlin's hands close to his chest.

"You'll be barred from ever setting foot in the Battle Frontier ever again," Darach said. "And I refuse to let such a thing happen to you. _That_ is why I cannot let you battle, not because of what I fear you'll do, Lady Caitlin…"

Darach gave Caitlin's hand a kiss.

"Because without you, the Battle Castle is nothing."

But as soft and poetic as the butler's words were, they all fell on deaf ears as Caitlin scoffed yanked her hands out of Darach's grasp.

"Save the sugarcoating," Caitlin said. "The only thing stopping the Battle Castle… No – the only thing stopping this "Battle Frontier" from being nothing are these simpleton trainers. Everything else is just garbage you made up in your head to make yourself feel like you're special."

Darach looked at Caitlin in disdain as she walked past him. Darach grabbed the girl by the shoulder, but was met with not a glare or another bite… but some sort of electric shock! Darach quickly withdrew his gloved hand, the fingertips of them completely black and fried to a crisp. It was then the girl gave him a mean look, and Darach, being her butler for as long as he could remember, knew by the look in Caitlin's eyes that it would be better if he left her alone for a bit.

"You're pathetic, Darach," Caitlin said, scoffing and turning her head back. "You're just like the rest of the valets before you: Weak, spineless fools who're afraid of even their own shadows."

And the young girl wandered off again, only to be swallowed up by the large crowd of people, leaving Darach to hang his head in shame and drudge himself back to the Battle Castle to begin his day of Pokémon battling. _I understand how much she wants to battle_ , Darach thought to himself. _But we all know what will happen if we let her. And to be disowned like that…_ Usually Darach would be a stern and watchful yet happy man who'd do anything for the Battle Frontier, the Battle Castle, and especially Lady Caitlin. But now, the butler was feeling like any long-time butler would be: tired, frustrated, and stuck with the weight of the entire world on his shoulders. He found himself a small stool positioned under a large yellow parasol, to give whomever sat in it shade. Darach had himself a seat, and proceeded to collect his thoughts on the current matter. _If I let Lady Caitlin battle, I'll defy the wishes of not only my fellow Frontier Brains, but the entire Pokémon League_ ,Darach thought to himself. _And her powers will put everybody in danger._ The butler buried his head in his hands. _But I do agree with her, though… She didn't ask to be brought into this world with such ferocious power._

The butler got up from the stool and continued on his way to the Battle Castle, his mind still on the last words his lady said to him:

 _ **You're pathetic, Darach. You're just like the rest of the valets before you: Weak, spineless fools who're afraid of even their own shadows.**_


	2. The Mistake

"Could these guys take any longer?" groaned a trainer, standing anxiously in the long line of other trainers waiting to gain access to the Battle Castle. "It's been _two hours_ since I got in line, for God's sake!"

"Ah, quit your whining! How do you think we feel?" another trainer cried, who was even farther in the line than the other trainer was. "It's not like this the first time they've pulled this crap!"

Every other trainer in the long line yells out in agreement, their silent patience transforming into deafening rage in an instant.

"You know what? He's right!" a trainer yelled. "I remember them doing this exact same thing yesterday, and the day before that, too!"

"And this is the only facility that does this!" yet another trainer blurted out. "What the heck is this particular place's deal?"

"Everybody just calm down, please!"

That voice wasn't from a person in the crowd, but from somebody who was in front of the Battle Castle, trying his best to get everybody to settle. He was a towering yet lanky, pale-skinned man, with his hair consisting of large spikes of pure golden-yellow. His white shirt and brown pants were covered up by a large, flowing, bold green jacket, which flowed in the wind like the cape of a superhero. Most of the trainers knew not to yell at the man and mistreat him, for he was a Frontier Brain as well, and a well-respected one at that. But alas, the trainers was fed up with waiting, and just couldn't help yelling out in anger.

"Frontier Brains are people, too, you know?" the man said. "I'm sure they'll be ready soon, and then you'll be able to battle to your heart's content!"

"That's the same thing you said yesterday, Mr. Palmer!" exclaimed a trainer who was right in front of him.

"It's all right, everybody! I'm here!"

Darach ran up to the front of the Battle Castle, exhausted and gasping for air. Palmer went up to him and proceeded to whisper a few words into his ear.

"What's your deal, Darach?" Palmer asked under his breath. "I mean, just look at the length of this line! You can't keep pulling this stuff, man."

"I know, Palmer," Darach said. "It's just, I was trying to find Lady Caitlin, and—"

"Caitlin? But she's been in the Battle Castle all this time!"

Darach's eyes widened when he heard this, and rushed past Palmer and went right into the Battle Castle, where he say his beautiful young lady sitting calmly in her golden throne in the high balcony of the massive room. Caitlin looked down upon her butler and gave him a cocky smirk, which he responded to with a look of disdain and worry. Darach refuse to let the tricks of his lady get to him, and with a forced smile on his face, he opened the large double-doors to the Battle Castle, and welcomed each and every trainer who rushed into the facility with open arms. The long line to the Battle Castle vanished almost instantly, leaving Darach exhausted and still confused as to what his lady was playing at. Palmer comforted the struggling butler with a pat on his shoulder.

"So what's up?" Palmer asked.

"Lady Caitlin wishes to have a Pokémon battle," Darach admitted, albeit hesitatingly.

"You know what'll happen if she does, right?"

"The Pokémon League will bar her from the Battle Frontier, yes."

"Well, yeah… But I meant the _other_ thing that'll happen if she battles."

"Oh, but of course. And that's also something I don't wish to happen again. So many trainers almost lost their lives… Even _I_ nearly died when her powers went out of control that day."

"Exactly. Look, I know she's feeling a little left out of the loop, and that sucks. But we must follow what the Pokémon League ordered us to do. She can't battle, Darach. All right?"

The butler understood everything coming out of his fellow Frontier Brain's mouth, but still couldn't help but wonder if he should break the rules at least once and let Caitlin battle. He didn't bother to express his feeling on the matter out loud, however, for he didn't wish to rock the boat too much, and gave Palmer a bow in agreement. Darach's fellow Frontier Brain nodded in satisfaction, and went back to his own facility. Darach, letting out a heavy sigh, went into the Battle Castle to attend to the trainers. But, the butler let out a shriek of horror as he set his eyes upon the interior of the facility.

The entire interior of the Battle Castle was in ruins; there were multiple holes in the walls and even the ceiling, the large velvet rug that decorated the floor was torn to complete shreds, and rubble and debris was scattered all over the place, making quite an impossible-to-clean mess. Naturally, Darach wouldn't bat an eye to this, as his lady – before she was barred, of course – would always cause terrifying amounts of destruction whenever she'd battle. Giant messes that'll probably take days upon weeks to clean are nothing new to Darach. But was very, _very_ new to Darach was the other mess in the room. The very bloody, very grizzly mess.

Each and every trainer that entered the Battle Castle was **DEAD** ; some were on the floor, still and lifeless in large puddles of blood. Others were stuck under massive pieces of rubble, their bones and muscle exposed, their skulls cracked wide open, and their brains spilling out onto the floor. Darach put his hands over his mouth in shock.

"There you are."

The butler looked to the sky, and saw the one responsible for the inhuman carnage: **Lady Caitlin**. The young girl descended and landed on the ground in front of Darach, who stumbled onto the floor, and trembled in fear at the appearance of the girl. Her pink and white clothing, her long, flowing beige hair, and her soft, pale face were completely covered in blood. But Caitlin didn't care, as she walked towards Darach, blood dripping from her hands and face, and giving her butler a look completely devoid of emotion. Darach got up and bolted for the door, but Caitlin, with a simple outstretch of her hand, stopped Darach right in his tracks!

With a wave of her hand, Caitlin turned Darach towards her, and in the most monotone, inhuman, thunderous voice she could muster, she uttered these two words:

" **BATTLE ME.** "


	3. The Message

Palmer, the Frontier Brain of the facility known as the Battle Tower, lets out a loud, hearty laugh as the Pokémon Trainer who was courageous enough to challenge him now reigned victorious. Whether he won or lost, the tall, blonde-haired man was always good sport, so he patted the young trainer on his back, handed him the gold print he earned for his effort, and sent him on his way. The other trainers in the tower applauded the young man for his spectacular feat, and he blushed in both embarrassment and satisfaction whilst he existed the facility with his well-deserved prize in hand.

"All right, who's next?" Palmer said as he cracked his knuckles and neck. "A Frontier Brain's work is never done, you know?"

But before whomever was next to do battle with the energetic man could speak up, somebody from outside of the Battle Tower let out an ear-splitting scream. Palmer and the entire audience existed the facility to see what could cause such a horrible sound to be made, and once they got outside, what they saw was like something out of a horror movie. Some trainers shrieked in horror, while others froze in shock. Some trainers covered their mouths with their hands in astonishment, while others were trying to hardest not to shed tears. But Palmer didn't scream, freeze, or cry. Instead, ran up to the bruised, battered, bloodied man on the floor that was Darach, his fellow Frontier Brain, picked him up, and carried him into the Battle Tower. Palmer turned to the crowd of trainers, who couldn't be anymore bewildered at what was going on.

"Don't concern yourselves with this," Palmer said in tone completely different from the jovial, hearty way he was speaking in earlier. "Please, continue enjoying your stay at the Battle Frontier."

The blonde-haired man entered the tower with the disheveled butler in tow, and the trainers, unable to make heads of tails of the situation, did as the Frontier Brain said and scattered about in an instant. The workers inside the Battle Tower didn't move an inch at the sight of the battered man as Palmer brought him in, either. In fact, it's almost as if they've seen all this before…

"Go get Nurse Joy, and fast," Palmer said sternly to one of the workers. "Otherwise, he isn't going to make it."

With a nod, the worker vanished to retrieve the nurse, so she can attend the Darach, whom Palmer set down onto a nearby bench. The Frontier Brain examined his friend, and his emotions finally caught up to him as he began to tear up a little, and fell onto his knees, and held Darach's hand.

"Why did you do it, man?" Palmer asked in a tone that was far more solemn than before. "Why?"

Darach opened his eyes, which were bloodshot and horrifyingly dilated, and turned his head to Palmer.

"P-Palmer…," Darach said in a quiet, quivering voice, as if his life was literally hanging on a thread. "Where is she?"

"Darach?"

"P-Palmer, tell me… Where is she? W-Where… Where did she go?"

"Darach, what are—"

"She's no longer in… in c-control, Palmer…"

"Darach, you… You were in front of the Battle Tower, beaten to a pulp."

"I… I was? She didn't k-kill me? Then that means—"

"Kill you? Darach, what's going on?"

Darach got up from the bench, his arms shaking uncontrollably, but stumbled onto the floor as his leg snapped in two in his attempt to prop himself up. The workers covered their mouths and yelped in horror at the terrible sight, while Palmer did his best to hold back his tears.

"P-Palmer, please…," Darach said as his turned to him once again. "E-Evacuate… Evacuate everybody from the B-Battle Frontier… Every t-trainer, every P-Pokémon. Please…"

"Darach," Palmer said. "What has Caitlin done?"

"No… N-Not her… D-Don't blame her, P-Palmer… For L-Lady Caitlin is…"

"Is what, Darach? Please, tell me!"

Darach fell completely on the floor, and with his final breath, he uttered these last words:

" **Lady Caitlin is no more."**

And with those chilling words, the stalwart butler, the Castle Valet Darach, closed his eyes for the final time… and died. Palmer and all the workers in the room hung their head in shame, but alas, there was no tie to mourn the butler's death, for a loud shriek could be heard right outside the Battle Tower. The woman who yelled barged into the tower, completely out of breath and trembling in fear. And following suit was the worker Palmer sent out to retrieve the nurse to aid Darach, but it's a bit too late for that now.

"Nurse Joy," Palmer said. "What's the problem?"

"Mr. Palmer, help us!" Nurse Joy said as she grabbed Palmer by the jacket. "The Pokémon Center, all the facilities… they've all been destroyed!"

"There are people and Pokémon trapped under rubble, too!" the worker said. "And… Oh, no. Mr. Darach? Is he—"

"Yes," Palmer said sternly. "Yes, he is."

Nurse Joy and the worker looked at each other, than back at the Frontier Brain.

"Mr. Palmer," Nurse Joy said. "You don't… You don't think Ms. Cait—"

But alas, before the nurse could finish asking her question, all of a sudden… her head exploded! A wash of blood and brains splashed right into the face of Palmer. The workers shrieked out in horror, and some of them even started to vomit. But Palmer, his pupils shrunken, his hands shaking, and a feeling of light-headedness overwhelming him, fell to the floor as he blacked out, for the various tragedies that were befalling all the people he's known for years was proving too much for him.

"Mr. Palmer! Mr. Palmer, please! You have to wake up before— What? No… N-No!"

"Her!? But how!?"

"Get away from her! She's out of control!"

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! HELP MEEEEE!"

"Somebody call the Elite Four! The Champion! SOMEBODY! HELP UUUUUUUUSSSSSS!"

The Frontier Brain heard these cries and more, but couldn't do a thing about it, as he couldn't move from shock. That is, until a couple of familiar faces appeared before him and called out to him:

"Do you see him? Come on, she's coming this way!"

"Don't freaking rush me, okay!? I'm trying the best I can to— Wait… There! He's over there!"

"Oh, thank goodness! Palmer, come on!"

"Palmer, you moron! Wake the heck up! And for Pete's sake, wipe your face!"

Palmer heard the cries of these two people and opened his eyes, and got up from the floor of the Battle Tower – what was left of the Battle Tower, to be exact. The Frontier Brain looked around, and saw that the Battle Tower – the glorious facility that he was once the head of – has been reduced to a smoldering pile of rubble. Palmer covered his mouth, but took his hand away from it instantly, seeing that he still had Nurse Joy's blood and grey matter still all over his face. Palmer looked up at the two people who woke him up: it was two of his fellow Frontier Brains. One was a short, pale-faced boy dressed in formal wear, donning a rather sharp-looking haircut and a really ugly pair of sneakers, and hanging off his left hip was a pack full of odd, teal-colored handheld mechanisms. The other one was a tall, tan-skinned woman was long, flowing black hair that looked like vines, and the top of her head was adorned with strange sphere-like adornments. She wore a tight blue pants, and bright yellow shirt and matching high-heels, as if she was preparing to hit the club or something like that. But by the looks of what's going on in the Battle Frontier, the club and any other trip of leisure will have to wait.

"Thorton?" Palmer asked. "D-Dahlia?"

"Well, at least he remembers our names," Thorton said as he rolled his eyes.

"You've no idea how glad we are to see you… alive, at least," Dahlia said, looking Palmer up and down, realizing how disheveled he's become. "We thought we lost you, too."

"Lost me?" Palmer asked again. "What do you mean?"

"Palmer, are you freaking serious!?" Thorton yelled. "Look around you, man! The Battle Tower's gone!"

"It's Caitlin," Dahlia said. "She's completely lost it, and—Oh, my God… Is that… Is that Darach?"

The woman pointed to the corpse of the butler. Palmer nodded yes to her question. Dahlia gave Thorton a hug, who looked at the corpse and shook his head in shame.

"She thrashed the Battle Factory, too," Thorton said.

"Same with… Same with the Battle Arcade. It's nothing but a pile of rubble now. Rubble and… b-body parts." Dahlia said in a broken up voice.

"What about Argenta?" Palmer asked.

"Argenta took one look at her and… she had a heart attack. She's… She's gone, too." Dahlia said.

Palmer closed his eyes and punched the ground in anger. Thorton got up from the floor and took one of the mechanisms out of the pack hanging from his left hip.

"I'm phoning the league," Thorton said as he began to dial a number. Palmer also got up from the floor, swatted the machine out of Thorton's hands, and crushed it to pieces with his foot.

"We can't get them involved." Palmer said sternly.

"What other choice do we have!?" Thorton yelled. "Pokémon Battles are one thing, but _that_? What the heck do you suggest we do about _that_!?"

Thorton pointed up to the now thundercloud-covered sky. Palmer looked up and saw that sight that was to behold: It was Caitlin floating in the sky, completely covered in blood, here hair a log flowing, gangly mess, her clothes torn and bloodied, her small, emotionless expression replaced with a wide, manic grin. And lastly were her eyes, which were no longer two large pools of green… but two absolutely terrifyingly huge pools of complete blood red. And under her were trainers and Pokémon of all shapes and sizes, dead, limp, and undeserving of the fate they had to meet.

"Now I understand what he was talking about," Palmer said to himself.

"Well, don't just freaking stand there!" Thorton yelled once again. "Go ahead, tell me what we should do about that!"

"We have to stop it," Palmer said as he turned to Thorton. "We've got to kill it."

"But do you really believe we can kill that thing?" Thorton asked. "Look at what it's done to the place, and that was just by itself with probably only a fraction of its power!"

"We have to try, Thorton," Palmer said. "Otherwise, once it's done with this place, it'll go after the rest of the Sinnoh region, and then every other region in the world…"

"'It'? 'That?' 'Thing?'" Dahlia interjected. "I know this is serious, but… Really? So all of a sudden she isn't a human now?"

Palmer looked up at Caitlin again, fully realizing what she's become, then turned back to Dahlia.

"Darach said it to me himself before he died: 'Lady Caitlin is no more,'" Palmer said. "And in her place is something… something else. It's sure as heck isn't a human, and it's obviously not a Pokémon… It's… It's a…"

" **A monster."**

Palmer and Dahlia looked at their fellow Frontier Brain, who had a look of pure seriousness son his face.

"You heard me: She's a monster. No human would do something like this, do… do _that_ to a person they care about," Thorton said as he pointed at Darach's lifeless body. "Heck, not even some of the most destructive, most terrifying Pokémon are _this_ heartless. She's… She's a monster."

Palmer didn't want to believe it, but nonetheless nodded in agreement with Thorton's harsh words.

"…Yes, you're right," Palmer said in a quivering tone. "Now, she's just a monster. Nothing more, nothing less, than a cold, heartless… **monster**."


	4. The Fall

Palmer, Thorton, and Dahlia looked upon Caitlin, who was hovering in the sky, looking down upon the terror she brought upon the Battle Frontier and its people. With a wide, jagged grin on her face, she let out a cackle so loud the three Frontier Brains below had to cover their ears, lest the monster's horrifying laugh would render them deaf. Her outburst of satisfaction didn't last long, and she descended from the sky, to an area where the Frontier Brains could deal with her directly. Palmer donned a look of pure confidence, and walked towards to spot the dreaded psychic landed, only to be stopped by Dahlia grabbing his arm.

"There's got to be another way," Dahlia pouted. "She isn't some insane person like Cyrus was, you know. She's just a little girl."

Upon hearing these words, Thorton scoffed and forcibly removed Dahlia's grip from Palmer's arm.

"Now isn't the time to be wearing goddamn blinders," Thorton retorted bluntly. "Don't you get it, Dahlia? The Sinnoh Region is _doomed_ if we don't do this!"

"But, Thorton, this isn't happening," Dahlia said as she grabbed Thorton by the shoulders and started to chuckle. "D-Don't you see, Thorton? This is… This is all a dream."

Thorton winced in pain as Dahlia's grip on him began to tighten. He looked into the woman's large, diluted, twitching eyes, and saw the raw fear that was within them.

"Dahlia, you're… You're hurting me, Dahlia!" Thorton yelped. "What the heck's gotten into you!?"

"I-It's okay, don't you see?" Dahlia said as her small chuckle erupted into a loud, screeching laugh. "This is all a dream! Everything's fine! The Battle Frontier's okay, can't you see!?"

Dahlia threw Thorton to the ground, and she then pounced right on top of him and grabbed him by the neck.

"E-Everything is fine, Thorton…," Dahlia said. **"FOR LADY CAITLIN IS OUR SAVIOR."**

Thorton's eyes widened when he heard these words come out of the mouth of his fellow Frontier Brian, but before he could respond, Palmer whacked Dahlia right in her head, and knocked her out. Thorton took her hands off of his neck, and scuttled away from her as quickly as she could.

"She's in denial of the situation, and it drove her mad," Palmer said. "Can't say I blame her."

"It's more than that," Thorton said, rubbing his neck. "That last thing she just said… I think Cailin was… _speaking through her_."

" **ALWAYS THE SHARP ONE."**

Dahlia got up from the floor, despite the blow that the strong Frontier Brain gave her, but something was definitely off with her this time: everything on her person was in place, but the most glaring things about her was her once beautiful tan skin, which was now a sickly paper white color, and her eyes were wide and completely devoid of their irises. Dahlia's long black hair was a bleached grey-white, and her mouth was reworked into a large, crooked grin.

"W-What the hell!?" Thorton yelled. "D-Dahlia!? W-What the—"

"No!" Palmer yelled. "It's Caitlin… She's _possessed_ Dahlia!"

" **AND YOU'RE NEXT!"** Dahlia yelled in a loud, warped voice. **"BUT FIRST…"**

Dahlia grabbed Thorton again, but this time by his throat!

" **LET'S SHOO OUT THE CLOWNS."**

She slammed Thorton down to the ground and began to relentless strangle him. Thorton struggled and gasped for air, and clawed at Dahlia's hands and arms as he struggled to get free, digging into her skin so deep he begun to tear some flesh off. But that didn't faze the mad psychic's puppet, and proceeded to tighten her grip on Thorton's neck, laughing manically as she did it. Thorton looked at Palmer, who attempted to reach out to him, but Palmer couldn't move a single inch, for the ordeal once again proved too much for him, and he froze in place. Tears welled up in Thorton's eyed uncontrollably, and his eyes rolled up in his head as Dahlia's grip tightened, and tightened, and tightened, until…

 ***CRACK!***

And there laid Thorton, dead and cold, as another victim to Caitlin's monstrous malice. Dahlia let go of Thorton's neck, and her paper white skin began to return to its natural tan color. Her eyes regained their beautiful irises, her hair was once again black and charcoal, and her crooked grimace became a small, sweet smile. But the moment she laid eyes on the corpse of Thorton, her fellow Frontier Brain, she broke down in tears, and begun to tear her beautiful hair out. Palmer walked towards Dahlia and reached a hand out, but she swatted it away in anger and fear.

"Y-You… You let me kill him…," Dahlia whimpered. "You could've s-stopped me… You could've done something… But you let me kill him…"

"D-Dahlia, it wasn't you," Palmer said, tears running down his cheeks. "It was her using your body—"

"SHUT UP!" Dahlia yelled. "YOU COULD'VE STOPPED ME! YOU LET HIM DIE!"

Dahlia fell to the floor, yelling and grabbing her head, hitting herself and tearing her hair out.

"A half-hour later and our workday would've been over…," Dahlia said, in a calm, quiet voice completely belying the loud, broken tone she just ranted in. "A simple thirty minutes and the day would've been done, and we'd all be home…"

Dahlia turned to Palmer, who didn't know what to say.

"It's fate, Palmer," Dahlia said with a smile. "It's fa—"

And the Frontier Brain's head exploded into a mass of blood and brains, spilling all over Palmers face and body.

" **Déjà vu."**

That voice belonged to the one who started this entire mess: **Lady Caitlin herself**. Palmer didn't freeze or keel over this time, because he knew what had to be done for the nightmare to end. Caitlin appeared before him, looking the same way she's always looked, aloof, innocent… and completely covered in blood and innards.

"Why?" Palmer asked.

"Why what?" Caitlin asked in a cutesy voice.

"Destroying the Battle Frontier, our home," Palmer said. "Killing all these innocent trainers and their Pokémon, killing… your own comrades. Thorton, Dahlia… _Darach_ , your own butler… Why?"

Caitlin walked around, leaving footprints of blood with each step she took.

"Because I was sick of sitting in a chair while everybody else was having fun," Caitlin said nonchalantly.

"So that means everybody had to die and everything had to be destroyed!?" Palmer yelled. "You _know_ why you can't battle, don't you?"

" **YES.** And I don't care. Do you think living in a world where you can't do the one thing everybody else in the world is able to do is fun experience?" It is **NOT**."

"You didn't ask to be born with psychic powers, I understand that. But… we had to do this, don't you see? It was for your own good!"

" **NO, IT WASN'T!"**

Caitlin lifted a hand, and Palmer began to rise in the air.

"It was for the good of you, your 'Frontier Brain' buddies, and every other spineless joke in this world!" Caitlin yelled. "It wasn't to protect me from all of you, it was to protect all of you from **ME**. They did this because they were afraid of me… Cynthia's afraid of me… Darach was afraid of me…"

" **YOU** are afraid of me," Caitlin said as she motioned her hand and made Palmer get closer to her. "But that's okay, and do you know why?"

Caitlin clenched her hand, and Palmer yelled in agony, begging Caitlin to stop. But it was inevitable, as Palmer's head, much like Nurse Joy and Dahlia before him, exploded. Caitlin dropped Palmer's dead, headless body on the ground.

" **Because in death, you have nothing to fear** ," Caitlin said.

Caitlin went up into the air once again, to look down upon the havoc she wreaked. The Battle Frontier, a beautiful place where Pokémon Trainers from far and wide would come together to battle, converse, and have the time of their lives, was now a wasteland of demolished buildings. Each and every one of the happy, lively inhabitants of the Battle Frontier were now either dead by Caitlin's or their own hand, missing, or frozen in shock, as they were unable to fathom what's just transpired at the place they'd always go to just to have fun. But Caitlin didn't care. All Caitlin wanted to do was battle, and these people wouldn't let her. These people were all having fun without her. They were enjoying themselves, and having the time of their lives… without her. Every trainer, every Pokémon, even Darach and her fellow Frontier Brains never bothered to consider her feelings. They deserved to die, each and every one of them… at least, that's what she kept telling herself, as she flew away from the destroyed Battle Frontier in tears. She didn't bother to look back at the destruction she wrought, because even she couldn't fathom that what had happened was of her own doing.

She didn't know what to think anymore, except for one thing: she was a monster, even worse than some of the most ferocious, more destructive, most horrifying Pokémon. Deep down, she didn't want it to be this way, but she couldn't think of any other way. But that's when it finally rung in her head, what had to be done for this nightmare to end…

" **It's me** ," Caitlin said, in a soft, solemn, but gravely, monstrous tone of voice.

She took both her hands – her dirty, bloodstained hands – closed her eyes, clenched her teeth, and plunged them straight into her chest. She writhed in agony and pain, but knew that what she was about to do was inevitable, and had to be done. She pulled her hand out of her chest… with her heart coming out after them. She stared at her heart – a disgusting, mangled mess of veins and arteries – seized it with both her hands, and crushed it into a mass of bloody glob. Caitlin cracked a smile as she plummeted from the sky and crashed into the water below, where the sea claimed her dead, lifeless body.

 **TWO WEEKS LATER…**

"So, this is where is happened?" a pale-skinned, blonde-haired boy in an orange-and-white striped shirt and green scarf asked. "This is where my dad died?"

The man he asked was plan-skinned and blonde-haired like him except he was taller, and had on a dark blue jacket, black pants, and a chain hanging from his hip. The man started at the young boy who asked him this question with her cold, blue eyes.

"Yeah," the man said. "Your old man died here, Barry."

Barry started at the Battle Frontier, which was wiped clean of its ruined facilities and the dead trainers and Pokémon lining its streets, and was now being repaired. Countless workers were walking around, carrying lumber and stone from one place to the next, rebuilding the once ruined facilities, of course with a couple of Pokémon helping them out.

"How?" Barry asked the man.

The man closed his eyes.

"The higher-ups at the League won't let me, kid," the man said. "Sorry."

Barry grabbed him by the arm.

"Volkner, please," Barry begged, as a single tear dripped down his cheek. "How did my dad die?"

Volkner signed and wrapped a hand around Barry.

"A girl called Caitlin killed him," Volkner said. "She was a Frontier Brain, like him."

"Caitlin…," Barry said. "The girl from the Battle Castle that would hand out Castle Points? She killed him? She… _She_ k-killed all of them? How…? How did a little girl like her… do all of this?"

Volker gave out another sigh.

"That question's better left unanswered, Barry," Volkner said. "Trust me. It's for your own good."

"That's the same thing that butler guy said when I asked him about her all those months ago," Barry said as he took Volker's arm off his shoulder, and walked off without another word.

"Barry," Volkner called out.

Barry turned to Volkner again, crossing his arms and trying to hold back tears.

"There are monsters out there, Barry," Volkner said. "But these kinds of monsters are different. They're nothing like Pokémon – they're true evil, they're true despair… And they're always around, even in places where you'd least expect them."

Barry turned away from Volkner again.

"Some more than others, it seems," Barry said as he left Volker and went his own way.

Volkner took one last look at the Battle Frontier, and left the premises without a trace.


	5. Afterword from the Author

I must admit, I had a lot of fun writing that story. It was just something that I had rummaging around the back of my head for a while, so I just decided to take out my laptop, and then that's when the words started to flow. But alas, the story's ended, for all good things must come to an end someday. Even so, it was interesting for me, to come up with a narrative or whatever you wish to call it like this. I know I'll probably get some backlash from hardcore Pokémon fans who've deeply involved in the series and care a little bit too much for these characters (even though at their core, their one-shot characters that are stand-ins for the ridiculous gimmicks of the Battle Frontiers in the games), but I really don't care.

I had fun making this, I'd rather not waste my own time mulling over what a bunch of people I don't even know who take these things too seriously have to say. I believe in enjoying the work for what it's worth, and being free to change it as much as you like. That's what fan-fiction's for, after all. Anyway, I thank you for taking the time to read my story. Favorite it if you like, leave a review if you like, and that's about it. Good-bye.


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